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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Asperger's and Autism: Brain Differences Found

Children with Asperger's syndrome show patterns of brain connectivity
distinct from those of

children with autism, according to a new study.
The findings suggest the two conditions, which are now in one category
in the new psychiatry diagnostic manual, may be biologically different.
The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to measure
the amount of signaling occurring between brain areas in children. They
had previously used this measure of brain connectivity to develop a
test that could distinguish between children with autism and normally
developing children.

"We looked at a group of 26 children with Asperger's, to see whether
measures of brain connectivity would indicate they're part of autism
group, or they stood separately," said study researcher Dr. Frank Duffy,
a neurologist at Boston's Children Hospital. The study also included
more than 400 children with autism, and about 550 normally developing
children, who served as controls.

At first, the test showed that children with Asperger's and those with autism
were similar: both showed weaker connections, compared with normal
children, in a region of the brain's left hemisphere called the arcuate
fasciculus, which is involved in language.
However, when looking at connectivity between other parts of the brain,
the researchers saw differences. Connections between several regions in
the left hemisphere were stronger in children with Asperger's than in
both children with autism and normally developing children.
The results suggest the conditions are related, but there are physiological differences
in brain connectivity that distinguish children with Asperger's from
those with autism, according to the study published Wednesday (July 31)
in the journal BMC Medicine.

"The findings are exciting, and the methods are sophisticated," said
Dr. James McPartland, a professor of child psychiatry at Yale
University, who was not involved in the study.

Although the study included a reasonable number of children, like any
new finding, the research needs to be replicated in future studies,
McPartland said.

People with Asperger’s syndrome experience difficulties with social
interaction, and can display unusual behaviors, such as repeating the
same action or being excessively attached to performing certain
routines. These symptoms overlap with those of autism disorder, however,
children with Asperger's tend to show language and cognitive
development that is closer to that of normal children, compared with
children with autism.

Recently, the American Psychiatric Association decided to eliminate Asperger's syndromefrom the newest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM 5) and instead put it alongside autism under an umbrella term, autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

The APA's decision raised voices of concern from several places.
Parents worried that their children with Asperger's might not receive
the special training they need, and experts said it was premature to
combine the two conditions under one groupwhen it cannot be ruled out
that there are biological differences.

"At present, it is hard to know whether [the new findings] reflect a
core, intrinsic difference between Asperger's and autism, or whether it
is a reflection of developing with different characteristics,"
McPartland said.

Duffy said the new findings fit with the notion that autism and Asperger's syndrome are similar in some respects; for example, both have difficulty getting along with other people.

However, stronger connectivity among the left hemisphere brain areas in
children with Asperger's may be what makes people with Asperger's
special in terms of their personalities and abilities, Duffy said.

"It's essential to separate these two groups, because they need different education and training and opportunity," he said.